Sexual harassment is a problem that occurs in schools throughout Sierra Leone, whether they be urban or rural, rich or poor, public or private, secondary or elementary.

The bad news is that sexual harassment may be happening in various communities on a daily basis. It may be happening in the halls, in the classrooms, in the cafeteria, on the playground, or in all the places that students congregate and where adults are present. Sexual harassment is not a new thing. It has been happening for years, only we didn’t label it “sexual harassment.” We have ignored it, denied it, and not held ourselves accountable for its impact on students and their opportunity to receive an education in a safe environment, free of hostility. In fact, we have not addressed it as a problem in schools.

With court decisions involving sexual harassment complaints against schools concerning students and adult staff members and, now, students to students, schools must be seen paying closer attention to developing policies and procedures prohibiting sexual harassmet in the educational environment. It is not enough however, to create policies without staff and students being aware of such policies and their implications. The fact remains, sexual harassment is illegal both in the workplace and in the educational environment. Students who experience sexual harassment in schools are being denied equal educational opportunity.

Over the course of the last two years, in training sessions with hundreds of administrators, teachers and other staff members, I have often asked participants if they know what the policies and procedures are for their schools regarding sexual harassment and what to do if they or students are being sexually harassed. Overwhelmingly, no hands are raised. Most participants do not even know there are laws that protect students and staff from sexual harassment and that sexual harassment is illegal in the educational environment. Clearly, if the adults in the schools do not even realize that policies exist to prohibit sexual harassment, how can we expect students to know about sexual harassment and its prohibitions?

The good news is that sexual harassment can be prevented. By teaching students to respect one another and to have healthy relationships between the sexes and within the sexes, students can become more sensitive to one another and realize that harassment in and of itself is demoralizing and degrading. Schools can best demonstrate this to students by taking a stand and not tolerating harassment in any form. This can be accomplished through awareness training about sex discrimination and bias and its effects on people and through teaching skills for empowering students to stand up for themselves when they experience harassment, whether it be sexual, racial or religious harassment.

Schools must stop ignoring “adolescent behavior” and do their part to eradicate unacceptable talk and actions. Sexual harassment has been taking place in the school’s for years, but only recently has it begun to get the attention it deserves. Some have called such attention an overreaction to normal adolescent behavior, but sexual harassment can inflict deep psychological damage on young people.

The responsibility for preserving an appropriate learning environment rests primarily with school administrators. Administrators can take several steps to help eliminate sexual harassment in their schools.

Make the elimination of sexual harassment a top priority. Empower teachers to take a stand against inappropriate name-calling and sexual comments. Talk about the problem, hold in-services, and bring in guest speakers to show the entire staff that this issue is important and that harassment is not acceptable adolescent behavior. Elicit staff participation in developing and implementing a plan to educate themselves, the students, and the parents about sexual harassment.

Educate students about sexual harassment. Students must be taught the difference between friendly teasing and bullying between flirting and harassment. Behavior must be clearly defined and explained; fair and consistent consequences need to be outlined and reinforced.

Get parents involved. Parental involvement is critical to long-term behavior modification. In many cases, parents will need to be educated about sexual harassment and its harmful effects in order to help them identify harassment and respond appropriately. When harassment occurs, parents of victims and perpetrators need to be informed of the details so that the emotional and developmental needs of both parties can be addressed. Family involvement and possibly outside counseling may be needed to avoid long-term emotional damage and to modify inappropriate behavior.

Teach students how to deal with harassment. Ignoring the situation can often lead to a cycle of ongoing harassment and victimization. A perpetrator gets an emotional payoff from seeing others afraid and upset. Students must learn to be assertive and establish strong personal boundaries. They must tell their classmates to stop when their behavior is offensive and inappropriate. Bystanders, too, must speak out against harassment when occurs. If students become moral spectators, there is little hope for change.

If harassment continues, students need to seek help from teachers, counselors, and administrators. Students are often embarrassed to report sexual harassment because of its degrading nature. They need to know that the harassment is not their fault, nor is it a reflection on them. They need to keep asking for help until the harassment stops; it may take two or three interventions before the behavior is modified. That students continue to seek help is in the best interests of all: unresolved conflicts can emotionally damage the victim, harden the consciousness of the perpetrator, and possibly lead to lawsuits for the school system.

The bad news is that sexual harassment may be happening in various communities on a daily basis. It may be happening in the halls, in the classrooms, in the cafeteria, on the playground, or in all the places that students congregate and where adults are present…

Just as a lifeguard listens and looks for the signs of swimmers in danger, administrators must be on constant vigil to protect students from the needless suffering of sexual harassment. School personnel must never turn a deaf ear to students’ seemingly trivial cries for help. Sexual harassment is not something young people need to learn to tolerate. Rather, it must be confronted and stopped so that schools can be safe and positive places for children to learn.

An educated child is an empowered child. By teaching our elementary-aged students pre-kindergarten through fifth about sexual harassment – i.e. what it is, what the law says about it, and how to protect themselves from unwanted, unwelcome sexual advances they become key players in creating a safe school. And with our staff and parents also informed on this important issue we have forged a partnership whose goal is a non-hostile, positive learning environment.

Sexual harassment is a type of discrimination based on sex. When someone is sexually harassed in school, it can undermine their sense of personal dignity and safety, disrupt their education, and interfere with their ability to reach their full potential in life. If left unchecked, sexual harassment in the school setting has the potential to escalate to viole: behaviour, including sexual assault.

A student experiencing sexual harassment may stop doing their school work and taking part in school-related activities. They may skip or drop classes, or they may drop out of school entirely. Psychological effects may include anxiety, depression, disrupted sleep, loss of appetite, inability to concentrate, lowered self-esteem, loss of interest in regular activities, social isolation, and feelings of sadness, fear or shame. Some students may abuse drugs and/or alcohol to cope. In extreme cases, students may think about or even attempt suicide.

Under the Ontario Human Rights Code, sexual harassment is “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought to be known to be unwelcome.” In some cases, one incident could be serious enough to be sexual harassment. Some examples of sexual harassment are: benefit or a at are: asking for sex in exchange for a favour; repeatedly asking for dates, and not taking “no” for an answer; demanding hugs; making unnecessary physical contact, including unwanted touching; using rude or insulting language or making comments toward girls and women (or boys and men. depending on the circumstances); calling people sex- specific derogatory names; making sex-related comments about a actions; saying person’s physical characteristics or or doing something because you think a person does not conform to sex-role stereotypes; posting or sharing pornography, sexual pictures or cartoons, sexually explicit graffiti, or other sexual images (including online); making sexual jokes; bragging about sexual prowess; bullying based on sex or gender; and spreading sexual rumours or gossip.

Gender-based harassment is a form of sexual harassment that is used as a “gender policing tool” to enforce conformity with sex-role stereotypes. Gender- based harassment can be particularly damaging to adolescent students who are struggling with their identities, and trying to come to terms with their sexuality, peer pressure and a desire to fit in. Students who are perceived as not conforming to stereotypical gender norms may be particularly vulnerable to gender- based harassment. Gender-based harassment in schools is often used as a form of bullying. This seems to happen regularly in primary, middle and high school. Students may use sexual information to gain control and power over another person.

To ostracize a rival, a girl starts a rumour that another girl is sexually promiscuous and performs sex acts on boys behind the school. Sexist and homophobic name-calling, jokes and conduct may also be used as a way to bully and shun a person. In some cases, gender-based harassment may look the same as harassment based on sexual orientation, or homophobic bullying.

Education providers have a legal duty to take steps to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. They must make sure they keep poison-free environments that respect human rights. From a human rights perspective, it is not acceptable to ignore sexual harassment, whether or not someone has formally complained or made a human rights complaint.

When deciding if an education provider has met its duty to respond to a human rights claim, tribunals are likely to think about the procedures in place at the time to deal with discrimination and harassment, how quickly the organization responded to the complaint, how seriously the complaint was treated, the resources made available to deal with the complaint, if the organization provided a healthy environment for the person who complained, and how well the person who complained was told about the action taken.

Educators can prevent many cases of sexual harassment by having a clear, comprehensive anti-sexual harassment policy în place. In cases of alleged sexual harassment, the policy will alert all parties to their rights, roles and responsibilities. Policies must clearly set out how the sexual harassment will be dealt with promptly and efficiently.

Everyone should know about the anti-sexual harassment policy and the steps in place for resolving complaints. This can be done by: giving policies to everyone as soon as they are introduced, making all teachers, school staff, students, etc. aware of them by including the policies in orientation material; and training people, including people in positions of responsibility, about the policies, and educating them on human rights issues.